Apple's iPad may be a blockbuster hit, but its success won't stop Android-based slates from leading the market within three years, according to a new IDC study.
While Apple dominates the tablet market today, the iPad's share of the worldwide market is declining as lower-priced competitors like the Amazon Kindle Fire arrive.
Apple shipped 15.4 million iPads in the fourth quarter of 2011, up from 11.1 million in the third quarter. The company had 54.7 percent of the worldwide tablet market in Q4, down from 61.5 percent in Q3, the IDC report says.
Android's share is rising, largely at the expense of the iPad, which runs Apple's iOS mobile operating system.
"As the sole vendor shipping iOS products, Apple will remain dominant in terms of worldwide vendor unit shipments," said Mainelli. "However, the sheer number of vendors shipping low-priced, Android-based tablets means that Google's OS will overtake Apple's in terms of worldwide market share by 2015."
There's one very bright spot for Apple, however. IDC predicts that iOS will remain the market leader, revenue-wise, through 2016 and beyond.
Kindle Fire's Success
The biggest tablet development last year was the emergence of Amazon as a major player. The online retailer shipped 4.7 million units of its Kindle Fire tablet, enough to take second place with 16.8 percent of the worldwide market.
"Amazon's widely-reported entry into the media tablet market with a $199, 7-inch product seemed to raise consumers' awareness of the category worldwide despite the fact that the Fire shipped almost exclusively in the U.S. in the fourth quarter," said IDC analyst Tom Mainelli in a statement.
The Fire's success was the driving force behind Android's market-share rise: up from 32.3 percent in the third quarter of 2011, to 44.6 percent in the fourth. (The Fire runs a custom version of Android.)
Samsung's share grew slightly from 5.5 percent in Q3 to 5.8 percent in Q4. And while Barnes & Noble increased its tablet shipments, its market share actually slipped in Q4 to 3.5 percent, down from 4.5 percent.
In the fourth quarter of 2011, worldwide tablet shipments rose 56.1 percent to 28.2 million units--a dramatic 155-percent increase from Q4 2010. Strong consumer demand has led IDC to bump up its 2012 tablet-shipment forecast to 106.1 million units, up from its earlier forecast of 87.7 million.
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Dragonfly said on Wed, 14 Mar 2012
You can pick Android tablets up on eBay for £45 and they are rubbish as I bought one just to try it. It didn't have a capacitive touch screen, Apps that were in the app market didn't work, you had to install plug-ins for certain features and even then those didn't work. User interface was overly complicated, there's no option to update to 'choc-ice fruitcake', (the latest Android OS). Flash operated at about 1 frame a second.
So if Android is going to become more ubiquitous than the iPad, I think I'd agree, but just because lots of people have something around the world, doesn't make it a good. Lots of people have influenza.
Xhris2210 said on Wed, 14 Mar 2012
Acne to outstrip peaches and cream by age 17 states a new report by IDC. A market analist [sic] today predicted that the sandpaper skin-look will outstrip a peachier look amongst teens within years of puberty. "It's so easy to pick up and other conditions such as impetigo and the more niche-orientated scrofula will also serve to edge out a smoother complexion over time" said a dribbling, scratching spokesperson.
Added benefits appear to include not having to wash or spend extra cash on an appealing wardrobe. "Let's face it - you're not going to get laid anyway so why bother?" The spokeperson also confirmed they had purchased an android tablet "to complete the look".
Jaded said on Wed, 14 Mar 2012
Well, out in the wild, away from all those analysts figures, I see about 1 in 20 tablets that is not an iPad.
Is the Android figure bumped up by all the landfill tablets?
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